Page 63 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“I’m a woman, dickhead.”

“I apologise, madam. Miss?”

“We’re looking for Mada,” Mikhail said to the hooded figure.

A loud giggle pierced through the room. “You’ve found me.”

“May we talk in private?”

“You and I have absolutely nothing to talk about.”

Mikhail didn’t want to waste his time, so he moved straight to flattery. Few witches could resist a little ego boost. “We were told that the almighty Mada knows no bounds. Nothing in the world of magic is forbidden to her. Some even say that you are equal to the gods. We also heard you’re not afraid of making deals with the Higher Powers.”

“Where did you learn all that, creature?” Her haughty voice filled the room.

“From a witch in Istanbul who said you were the only one on the continent who could open a portal.”

A weird huffing noise came from under the hood. “The continent? Try the whole world.”

“Even better. We knew we’d come to the right place.”

“You have, indeed.” The hood moved up and down. “Unfortunately for you, however, I have no intention of working with you.”

“Would you care to explain why?” Viktor chimed in.

“If that is your last wish…” The witch adjusted herself on her throne. “I will not work with you because you do not need a portal. And you know why?” She laughed again. “Because you have no need to change anything in your past or your future, as you will not leave this room alive. In fact, you will never leave this place. As if you never even existed!” Her laugh echoed through the cave and, this time, the other witches joined in.

When the crowd settled down, Mikhail spoke in a calm voice. “Are you sure you do not want to help us?”

Mada snapped her fingers. “Yes, I am. But I have nothing against hearing you beg for your lives.”

“Actually, we’re here for another reason,” Viktor said.

“Besides dying, you mean?”

“We’d appreciate it if you told us who hired you to open the portal to the Hospital in Sofia. He, or she, didn’t pass through, just delivered a box,” Viktor said. “We also suspect that he was only a mediator and was doing it for somebody else. Someone whose identity we believe you would be able to reveal through your witch-client bondage?”

“I admit I like you, creature,” the figure told him. “Unlike your buddy. But one thing amazes me most. What makes you think I will ever give up a client?”

“Because your client is acting against the Hospital and the Council, and against all creatures connected to them in any way, which turns you and your witches into his accomplices and our enemies,” Mikhail said in Viktor’s stead, struggling to ignore the red haze blurring his vision.

“Fool!” Her voice boomed. “You think I rely on you and your petty little hospital for anything?! Why should I care if you see me as your enemy? I am one of the most powerful witches in the world for a reason. I can heal myself and my children on my own.”

Mikhail pressed his lips together. “Then tell us what you want in exchange for this information. I doubt there’s anything in this world I cannot offer you.”

The witch laughed again. “You have already given me what I want by coming here.”

Viktor stepped forward. “If that’s the case, we won’t trouble you further. We apologise for the disruption.”

As if driven by an unspoken command, the witches rose to their feet in unison.

Mada’s body shifted on the throne. “I said I will not work with you, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t expect you. From now on, you will be my prisoners, whose souls and blood I will feast upon until you have nothing left to give me.”

Mikhail raised his eyebrows. The unwillingness to cooperate had been expected, but flat-out hostility? Not in the current day and age. Given the changes around all species’ regenerative capabilities, cooperation tended to be the rule, rather than the exception.

He had struggled in sticky situations more than once and had learnt the hard way that aggression didn’t solve anything. At least not in a situation of thirty-five against two, and that was without counting the thing on the throne. And he could count, despite Mada’s assumptions.

“I’m sure we can come to an agreement,” he said.

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